Attack at Iraq Tribal Meeting Kills 23

Iraqi police said 23 people have been killed and 42 others wounded in a suicide bombing at a meeting of Sunni Arab tribal leaders south of Baghdad.

Officials said Friday's attack in the town of Yusufiya took place at the home of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Salih, the head of a Sunni tribe.

The sheikh, who suffered minor injuries in the attack, had convened the meeting to promote reconciliation between Sunni and Shi'ite tribes.

Yusufiyah is in a Sunni-dominated region south of the Iraqi capital once known as the "Triangle of Death" because of its extreme violence. The violence declined markedly in 2008, but factional rivalries persist in Iraq.

Also today, police said gunmen fatally shot three guards at a Sunni-patrolled checkpoint about 60 kilometers south of Baghdad. Six others were wounded in the attack.

In other news, the first passenger flight from Europe in over 17 years landed at Baghdad's airport Friday. According to the French News Agency, the Sweden-based Nordic Leisure airline will join a number of other international carriers resuming commercial flights to Iraq.